Lindencrone family

No. 303 seen in a detail from Christian Gedde's map of St. Ann's East Quarter, 1757

The Lindencrone Mansion was one of the earliest town mansions that was completed in Copenhagen's new Frederiksstaden neighbourhood. It was built in 1751-53 as a new city residence for Christen Lintrup, supercargo in Danish Asia Company, who already owned Gjorslev Manor on Stevns and was raised to the peerage under the name Lindencrone in 1756. The building was constructed by the master builder Christian Conradi to a design or concept by Niels Eigtved who had also created the masterplan for the new district. Court sculptor Jacob Fortling was responsible for creating the decorations on the facade.^[1] Lindencrone rented out part of his mansion to foreign envoys.

Johan Frederik Lindencrone

Bolette Lindencrone by Juel

Lindencrone's widow, Mette Holmsted, kept the property on Bredgade as her winter residence after her husband's death. Their son, Johan Friedrich Lindencrone, lived in the mansion from 1772 and became its owner after his mother died in 1789. He suffered from economic difficulties and sold off a portion of the garden to city builder Jørgen Henrich Rawert in 1794.

19th century: Raben, Fibiger, Broch and Næser

Lindencrone Mansion

Lindencrone did not recover from his economic difficulties and had to part with the property in 1811. The buyer was count Frederik Christian Raben, a widely traveled amateur naturalist, who owned the Christiansholm estate on Lolland. In 1816, he rented the building out to the Swedish state as a new home for their diplomatic mission in Copenhagen but the embassy moved again after a few years.^[1]

The Raben family owned the Lindencrone Mansion until 1840. It was then acquired by Adolph Christian Fibiger, a manufacturer of ship sails, who built the neighbouring property at Sankt Annæ Plads 1–3. The following owners were Caroline Fibiger, his widow, Gustav E. Broch, a lawyer, and the merchant Albert Næser.

The property was home to 23 residents in three households at the 1840 census. Adolph Christian Fibiger resided in the building with his wife Caroline Hedevig Klingberg, their four-year-old twin sons Adolph Wilhelm Fibiger and Peter Christian Fibiger, one male servant and two maids.^[2] Five sercants for grand Minister Baron Schoultz von Aschenraden were also residing together in the building.^[3] Søren Petersen, a carriage maker, resided in the rear wing with his wife Johanne Søeholm, their two-year-old daughter Ane Hansine Petersen, one maid, three carriage makers (employees) and four apprentices.^[4]

Søren Petersen was still based in the rear wing at the 1845 census.^[5]

20th century to present

9 April 1940: German soldiers arresting employees at the British embassy

The British embassy was based in the building from circa 1850^[1] and the British State acquired the building in 1898. The embassy closed temporarily when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. The embassy reopened after the end of the war in 1945. Winston Churchill stayed in the building during his visit to Copenhagen in 1950 to receive the Order of the Elephant.^[1]

The British embassy relocated to Kastelsvej in Østerbro in 1979 and the British state then sold the building to Niels Stellan Høm. It was then home to an insurance company for many years.

Bestseller-founder Troels Holch Povlsen purchased the building in 2003. It was then subject to a major restoration with the assistance of the architects Bue Beck and arkitekt Leif Jørgen. It was completed in 2006.^[6]